What is it with nad?

[gasolin]

What is it about nad amplifers? So many recommend them to others if somebody want's a used amplifier with lots of power

I feel that many have a nad amplifier, but why? Just a left over from the 3020i days? (value for money, not just cheap, but also sounded very good, never had one)

Don't know why, other then lots of power and a warm boom bastic sound (if i call it that), that would be the reason if i bought a used nad amplifier,

also think the sound might go very vell with my dali zensor 1 (heard a long time ago the small nad 315BEE and concept 1)

 

[CnoEvil]

They are one of many amps that are recommended.

Hifi is subjective, and Nad is recommended by people who like the sound, and speaker matching is key. Personally I would rather have it than a bright screechy amp.

There is no "right and wrong" where personal preference dictates the decision.

 

[plastic penguin]

As Cno says, so many other makes are usually mentioned.

I think they make very good sounding amps at sensible prices. I personally wouldn't buy one myself but, in certain circumstances, they will be the ideal integrated.

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

PP I like your new Avatar,cool!

I've a NAD 3020i, bought it for £40 on ebay and i was very lucky, mine is in mint conditions!

If it wasn't the Ega Brio R "magic" I've bought a new NAD 326BEE, lovely amp for the price, full of detail, power and insite!

I've demo it with MA RX6 nice combo!!!

:cheers:

 

[simon3102000]

I rarely see anyone recommend nad on this site to be fair. Amazing amps though, a nice clear punchy detailed sound.

 

[matthewpiano]

People recommend NAD amps because they are excellent. Sure, they have their pluses and minuses like all amps, but they are certainly very involving and entertaining to listen to. Having said that, I've probably had my last one just because I feel the Denon betters the C326BEE in several areas and once you get up to C356BEE and C375BEE prices there are other amps I'd rather have.

 

[MajorFubar]

I only heard one NAD amp: a 3020e my dad bought brand new for £120 in 1987. Highly rated by the HiFi press and I can understand why because it sounded very precise and uncoloured for a budget amp, and dare I use that word 'transparent'. Yet within a week it was back in the shop to be exchanged for a Marantz PM-45 because somehow even though it did everything right it sounded just plain 'boring', and I can't even put my finger on why. Lack of oomph maybe, but probably not even that. Just that music played through it never grabbed you by the balls.

 

[crusaderlord]

I owned a Nad 304 and CD player for over 10 years from the 80s and was very happy with it - at that end of the price bracket i would recommend them as powerful and solid with good bass and no screechy top end and personally preferred to Cambridge Audio which was the other main brand on offer.

However i have learnt a lot more about hifi over the last few years including where else you can source other brands and there are i believe better options more readily available nowadays.

 

[Broner]

Can't say that NAD is overrepresented here on the forum. I recently bought the C356BEE and I didn't read all that much about it.

 

[Cypher]

At the moment I have a Pioneer amp but the NAD C326BEE I had was awesome ! Great amp !

Coming out in July ; NAD D3020 all digital amp.

Picture ; http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/NAD_D3020_Vert3-4.jpg

 

[Dougal1331]

I'm a great proponent of NAD kit.

Owned a C350 and a C270 power amp a few years back, and I've always regretted selling them. Awesome is an understatement...

Not all NAD amps are ballsy powerhouses- if it's grunt you're after, steer away from the real vintage stuff such as 3020i, and even the 302 and 304, which were more recent. What you want is a C340, C350 or if you can afford one, a C370. Special circuitry and huge power supplies enabled these amps to drive the most difficult speakers with ease (my C350 drove Celestion 66mk2, which drop to around 2ohms impedance in the bass frequencies, and it was brilliant!), and they all sounded great. the 350 and the 370 are the pick of the bunch, but the 340 can be had for bargain prices and is still a very good amp.

That's my opinion, anyway...

 

[Ajani]

Like others have said in this thread; I don't think NAD gets that much attention in these forums at the moment. My first decent HiFi was an all NAD setup with Mission speakers. Frankly I found the NADs really boring and happily replaced them with Rotel/Marantz. However, combined with different speakers who knows how the NADs would have sounded.

I haven't really been interested in NAD again until they started producing Direct Digital Amps. NAD's new affordable DDAs are really intriguing:

The D 7050 Direct Digital Network Receiver (1000 USD)

• Apple’s AirPlay Wi-Fi streaming;
• UPnP streaming compatitbility;
• Bluetooth High Fidelity Codec aptX;
• Premium quality headphone amplifier output with high quality volume control;
• Direct Digital – with no analog circuits for low noise; • 50 watts per channel power output

and the D 3020 Digital DAC/Amplifier (500 USD):

Digital inputs: Asynchronous USB with 24-bit/96kHz capability; coaxial and optical;
• Analog inputs;
• Bluetooth connectivitiy for wireless streaming (Bluetooth aptX);
• 30 watts per channel power output with <0.5W standby power consumption;
• Included IR remote control.

 

[Audiogurusince70s]

NAD remains true to the original philosophy of no nonsense, honest design, keep the bells and whistles to a minimum and all their amps, even the entry-level C316BEE will drive any speaker with an impedance down to 2 ohms. I notice comments that some for instance consider the current crop of DENON amps sounds 'better'. Agreed, anyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. I have been in this game since the mid 70s and heard NAD the first time mid 1979 - I think it was the 3030 integrated amp driving a pair of original Quad Electrostatics - full tilt without going into premature clipping or distortion. From that moment I realised that that NAD is different, and it still is!

 

[igloo audio]

NAD make some very good products.

The 326BEE would drive sensitive / easy load £9k speakers (think Art Emotion Signatures) better than most recommend valve amps. Sadly, I think NAD is now only available via Sevenoaks HiFi who replaced Armour Home Electronics as the distributor. Yes another sad day for independent HiFi dealers that long supported the NAD brand.

Peter

 

[BigH]

NAD remains true to the original philosophy of no nonsense, honest design, keep the bells and whistles to a minimum and all their amps, even the entry-level C316BEE will drive any speaker with an impedance down to 2 ohms. I notice comments that some for instance consider the current crop of DENON amps sounds 'better'. Agreed, anyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. I have been in this game since the mid 70s and heard NAD the first time mid 1979 - I think it was the 3030 integrated amp driving a pair of original Quad Electrostatics - full tilt without going into premature clipping or distortion. From that moment I realised that that NAD is different, and it still is!

I had the NAD 3030, it was OK but not with cdp, the Arcam 3 was much better.

 

[Anonymous]

My first amp was a Rotel 820BX (1984) prefered it to the NAD

 

[matthewpiano]

NAD make some very good products.

The 326BEE would drive sensitive / easy load £9k speakers (think Art Emotion Signatures) better than most recommend valve amps. Sadly, I think NAD is now only available via Sevenoaks HiFi who replaced Armour Home Electronics as the distributor. Yes another sad day for independent HiFi dealers that long supported the NAD brand.

Peter

Exclusivity seems to be a developing theme. I notice the latest Focal Chorus 700 series speakers are exclusive to Richer Sounds - very surprising choice of retailer for such a brand, but then before this their product was hardly widely or easily available.

NAD distribution patterns seem to change all the time. One minute they are all over the place, selling through Richer Sounds, Amazon et al, and the next they limit themselves to one chain of hi-fi shops which has big gaps in its coverage.

I basically like NAD products but I do find them a bit un-sophisticated sounding. To me, Denon shares a lot of the NAD qualities but with more refinement and clarity - a good balance of all things.

 

[davedotco]

NAD remains true to the original philosophy of no nonsense, honest design, keep the bells and whistles to a minimum and all their amps, even the entry-level C316BEE will drive any speaker with an impedance down to 2 ohms. I notice comments that some for instance consider the current crop of DENON amps sounds 'better'. Agreed, anyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. I have been in this game since the mid 70s and heard NAD the first time mid 1979 - I think it was the 3030 integrated amp driving a pair of original Quad Electrostatics - full tilt without going into premature clipping or distortion. From that moment I realised that that NAD is different, and it still is!

The earliest products were branded 'New Acoustic Dimension' and finished in a sort of champagne gold, receivers mainly if I recall correctly.

Distributed by the Marantz peope at that time, they were marketed as something specially designed for the uk market at a lower price to the then premium Marantz range. The big breakthrough came with the 3030, VU meters and all and the cheaper, simpler 3020, one of the great budget amplifiers of all time.

My Dual/NAD/AR18s system of the mid-late 70s remains in my mind as one of the best budget systems ever, even upgrades from such highly regarded brands as Rega and Audiolab only suceeded in making it sound worse.

 

[jaxwired]

Not much a mystery. Great products tend to get frequent recommendations.

 

[Nelly]

picked up my nad c316bee from ebay for £160 ex display never used mint condition best bargain ever sounds fantastic.

p.s they also have a great headphone out sounds is also great not like some amps ive heard

 

[robg1976]

Lets start by saying, NAD are highly recommended as they are amazing value for money, what you get for your money is no nonsense real world Hi-fi, My first step in to hi-fi was a NAD C352 amp with a c521 bee cd player. Sure they are not the best looking kit but you get great value for money, NAD amps have a dynamic sound with a good detail, timing and for the money a good stereo image, They wont be for everyone sure, but they deliver a good dynamic sound for very little cash and you can be sure at every price point you are getting good quality components and sensible engineering.... I hav now moved on to an ARCAM System, with monitor audio speakers. I for one will always praise my nad system for introducing me to hi-fi. To sum up i would say When you buy a NAD you can be sure you are geting quality and value for money whatever your budget.

 

[jaxwired]

Lets start by saying, NAD are highly recommended as they are amazing value for money, what you get for your money is no nonsense real world Hi-fi, My first step in to hi-fi was a NAD C352 amp with a c521 bee cd player. Sure they are not the best looking kit but you get great value for money, NAD amps have a dynamic sound with a good detail, timing and for the money a good stereo image, They wont be for everyone sure, but they deliver a good dynamic sound for very little cash and you can be sure at every price point you are getting good quality components and sensible engineering.... I hav now moved on to an ARCAM System, with monitor audio speakers. I for one will always praise my nad system for introducing me to hi-fi. To sum up i would say When you buy a NAD you can be sure you are geting quality and value for money whatever your budget.

well said...

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

NAD remains true to the original philosophy of no nonsense, honest design, keep the bells and whistles to a minimum and all their amps, even the entry-level C316BEE will drive any speaker with an impedance down to 2 ohms. I notice comments that some for instance consider the current crop of DENON amps sounds 'better'. Agreed, anyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. I have been in this game since the mid 70s and heard NAD the first time mid 1979 - I think it was the 3030 integrated amp driving a pair of original Quad Electrostatics - full tilt without going into premature clipping or distortion. From that moment I realised that that NAD is different, and it still is!

The earliest products were branded 'New Acoustic Dimension' and finished in a sort of champagne gold, receivers mainly if I recall correctly.

Distributed by the Marantz peope at that time, they were marketed as something specially designed for the uk market at a lower price to the then premium Marantz range. The big breakthrough came with the 3030, VU meters and all and the cheaper, simpler 3020, one of the great budget amplifiers of all time.

My Dual/NAD/AR18s system of the mid-late 70s remains in my mind as one of the best budget systems ever, even upgrades from such highly regarded brands as Rega and Audiolab only suceeded in making it sound worse.

Like this one...?

I'm after one of this beauties, but hard to find with all the lights working and in mint condition. And seems that Germany as them all, I've only find a few selling over there...

 

[davedotco]

Like this one...?

I'm after one of this beauties, but hard to find with all the lights working and in mint condition. And seems that Germany as them all, I've only find a few selling over there...



[/quote]

Nice, if you like that sort of thing, doesn't work for me though. If I recall correctly, the earliest UK models were branded New Acoustic Dimension rather than NAD, I don't remember them being very good but a you can see, thay sort of covered all the bases.

Trying to remember the importer but the name escapes me, Malcolm Blockley was the sales manager, hugely popular man in TCR at the time, though that is a story that I can not go into!

 

[eggontoast]

Like this one...?

I'm after one of this beauties, but hard to find with all the lights working and in mint condition. And seems that Germany as them all, I've only find a few selling over there...

Why not get get one shipped over, I've bought quite a few vintage pieces from Germany.